Old Accessories

100 points Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2020 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou is another legendary wine from this chateau that has been on an incredible run over the past decade. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot that was brought up all in new French oak, it has a saturated purple hue to go with an incredible, mineral-laced bouquet of creme de cassis, liquid violets, graphite, and tobacco leaf. More structured and concentrated than any of the Leovilles, this blockbuster, deep, concentrated, full-bodied Saint-Julien has off-the-charts purity, ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish. I wrote in my notes, "Like the 2010, only better." You won't find a more concentrated yet flawlessly balanced and elegant wine out there. It's going to need a decade of cellaring and will have 40, 50, if not 60 years of longevity.

99 points Decanter
Evocative and moreish, a Ducru that beguiles and delights from the start with a scented nose full of cedar, rose, violets, cherries and damsons - a riot of Cabernet typicity. Vibrant and pulsing on the palate, this has grip and intention from the get-go. Massy, full and wide in the mouth - there?????s density and this is broad but it?????s delicate too - a sense of weightlessness with such movement and energy and a soft sweet, succulent grip throughout. Powerful with present tannins that unravel slowly so there?????s time to appreciate the details as they come. A thoughtful and intellectual wine that leaves a smile on your face.

96-98 points Vinous
The 2020 Ducru Beaucaillou was picked from 11-30 September, matured entirely in new oak for an expected 18 months. It has a very succinct bouquet, not one that leaps from the glass and demands attention, but it unfolds slowly, at its own pace, revealing enticing scents of blackberry, cedar, iris petals and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. There is a saline spine that runs through this Saint-Julien from start to finish, a quite enormous structure that exerts grip towards the finish. It is not a Ducru-Beaucaillou that goes out to deliver finesse or understatement, but one that you will have to cellar for a few years, pull out and have the superlatives ready. This is an immense and cerebral Ducru-Beaucaillou from Bruno Borie and his team. Neal Martin (5/2021)

98 points Vinous
The 2019 Ducru Beaucaillou, which was matured in 100% new oak for 12 months, has a glorious bouquet of cigar humidor, cedar, black fruit and a touch of black truffle, very complex and quite compelling. The palate is still very Pauillac-inspired in style, and finely proportioned, with chiseled tannins. Displaying superb clarity and salinity on the finish, this feels very persistent and utterly charming. It will repay a decade in bottle and then last several more. I believe this will outperform the 2018 in the long run. Neal Martin (2/2022)

96+ points Wine Advocate
Powerful and muscular, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou offers up aromas of cassis, raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets and iris, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's rich but lively, with a deep core of fruit and an ample endowment of ripe, powdery tannins. Fuller maturity and a more rigorous selection over the last two decades have brought what proprietor Bruno Borie characterizes as additional "punch" to this wine, in the form of unprecedented levels of anthocyanins and tannins, but all that substance and structure will require some patience before we'll see if Ducru is still Saint-Julien's most elegant wine. (4/2022)

88% Pinot Noir and 12% Cinsault. Sourced from Viñedo Larqui, a 4.5-acre vineyards planted between 1998-2008 in granitic soils at 330 feet altitude. Farmed lutte raisonée. After a 10-day cold soak, the wine was made in concrete; aged on the lees for 12 months and bottled lightly filtered.

Organic

Spontaneous fermentation in stainless tanks with native yeasts. Aged in stainless tanks for a few short months before bottling

Organic / Natural

Grapes: Gruner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Muller-Thurgau

"It's a wine made in a very classical way, with no maceration, just gentle press and then some time in tanks. The idea here is to have wine that you can drink with literally everyone, be they natural wine fans or haters." -Nestarec

93 points Vinous
The 2020 Lions de Suduiraut is a gorgeous, approachable Sauternes that emphasizes bright, floral accents. Tangerine oil, almond, dried flowers, light honeyed notesand apricot all grace this airy, wonderfully nuanced Sauternes. The 2020 is 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. This is simple impeccable. Drinking Window 2025-2035

#8 on The Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2023!

97 points Wine Spectator
This has a very large-scaled yet properly proportioned core of cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors that are remarkably pure and focused. Buried deep within is a sleek, vibrant iron spine that drives the finish as the fruit keeps pace. Extra savory, tobacco and cedar nuances fill out all the remaining available space. A towering wine, with a buttoned-up feel. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2045

98+ points Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2020 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron is pure gold, a full-bodied, rich, powerful 2020 displaying the vintage's purity, focus, and structure front and center. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, its dense purple hue is followed by a mammoth-sized bouquet of cassis, blackberries, smoked earth, graphite, and cedar pencil. With ripe tannins, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, and one heck of a finish, it comes closest in my mind to the estate 2010, and I think is clearly in the same realm as the 1989, 1990, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2019. It offers pleasure today, but it certainly warrants 7-8 years, a decade if possible, of bottle age and will have 40-50 years of overall longevity.

98 points Vinous
As I found before, the 2020 Pichon Baron takes a while to open in the glass. Finally, it offers enticing blackberry and boysenberry fruit, peony and iris flower, hints of graphite and black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, again, displaying outstanding symmetry and focus, fresh as a daisy with a strong and mineral-driven finish. Christian Seely and his team have overseen a splendid Pichon Baron for the ages. Blue-blooded Pauillac. (Antonio Galloni)

#8 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2023!
97 points Wine Spectator
This has a very large-scaled yet properly proportioned core of cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors that are remarkably pure and focused. Buried deep within is a sleek, vibrant iron spine that drives the finish as the fruit keeps pace. Extra savory, tobacco and cedar nuances fill out all the remaining available space. A towering wine, with a buttoned-up feel. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2045.

Roodeberg Black is our classic red blend wrapped in an intense layer of dark ripe fruit entwined in deep toasted oak. On the nose, pristine red and black fruits with vanilla and mocha lingering in the background. Palate is markedly fresh yet intense with quality dark fruit balancing the mocha, vanilla and space. The finish is smoky, rich and intense; long and persistent like a burning ember, reminiscent of the fire that gave life to this blend

The Blend: 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Shiraz, 15% Petit Verdot, 15% Petite Sirah, 10% Tannat, 10% Pinotage, 3% Malbec, 1% Tempranillo, 1% Grenache Noir

Organic / Biodynamic

10 hours on the skins followed by spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Aged in stainless. Filtered. A bright yellow color with a brilliant focus and structure. Mineral driven, stony, savory, and a delicate salinity aspect that is intriguing. A compelling wine that any white wine drinker will enjoy.

12% abv

93 points Wine Advocate
The 2020 Marqu??s de Casa Concha Heritage was produced with 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot from the ungrafted part of El Mariscal Vineyard in Puente Alto in Maipo, the place where the Marqu??s de Casa Concha originated, so they wanted to go back to their roots and that's why they called the wine Heritage. It fermented in stainless steel with selected yeasts followed by malolactic in tank and 16 months in French oak barrels, 40% of them new. It's ripe at 14.6% alcohol and has good acidity and freshness. It's quite fruit-driven, with notes of herbs (tobacco leaves), a bit grapey, from grapes harvested quite early because it was a very warm year. The quality of the tannins is not the same as those of the 2021; there is a little more rusticity here. But the wine keeps the freshness to avoid any sweetness in the wine.

93 points Vinous
The 2020 Red Blend Heritage Marques de Casa Concha combines 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, aged for 16 months in 40% new barrels. Intense garnet red in color. The nose offers dark fruit such as blackberry and black currant and attractive hints of olive, bay leaf and ash. With the terse tannins typical of the region, it begins expansively before tightening up a little to deliver intense flavor followed by a long, fruity finish. A compelling wine.

97 points James Suckling
Very perfumed with flowers and sandalwood. Medium- to full-bodied with very fine tannins that are so long and intense. This will compete with top Brunellos. Linear and driven at the end. From organically grown grapes. Best after 2026.

92 points Wine Advocate
Opening to medium-dark concentration, the organic Castello di Bossi 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo offers a velvet-like texture with substantial aromas of dark plum and sweet cherry and moderate tones of earth and spice that are expertly woven within the wine's fine texture. This Riserva offers good tannic structure with fine, powdery sensations to close.

Organic / Natural

100% Nebbiolo. The vines come from Loreto- sand-loam soils, planted in 1998, east-facing , Mompellini- sand-loam-clay soils, planted in 2008, west-facing, and San Grato, sand and limestone, planted in 1967, southwest-facing. They hand-harvest and ferment each vineyard separately. The grapes are destemmed then pumped into concrete and stainless steel tanks with around 3-5% whole clusters included. Fermentation starts spontaneously and takes, with maceration, approx. 2 weeks. They do soft pigeage and pump a small amount of juice over the cap to extract from the skins. After fermentation they press off in a basket press and then blend the 3 wines together. Loreto brings a fruity nose, some body and good acidity, Mompellini brings color and structure and San Grato brings elegance, floral aromatics and juiciness. After malo they rack one more time in concrete tanks outside (usually in November) and 2 weeks later they rack into botti, a used 500 liter tonneaux, and the rest in concrete. They blend those components together again and rack in April/May and then they don’t touch the wine until November. The wine is then bottled between November and January

Organic

92 points Wine Advocate
I love the simplicity of the red blend 2020 Candea Tinto, which is straightforward, tasty, juicy and balanced, without any excess or makeup, raw and authentic, with note of wild berries, flowers and herbs and a medium-bodied palate with moderate alcohol and nice balance. Highly drinkable. 14,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2022

Organic / Natural

Avgoustiatis (meaning ‘of August’ in Greek) is an early-ripening variety found mainly on Zakynthos. Pre-fermentation maceration followed by spontaneous fermentation for 20 days. Aged for 18 months in old barrels (4-6 years-old). The key to the wine’s name is August… picked early, this indigenous variety is yet another rarity. It falls somewhere between red Burgundy and Cru Beaujolais. Strawberries and redcurrants. Nice balance of grapey, crunchy fruit and subtle, soft tannin and acidity. Forest floor ala Cab Franc that will please the Loire Valley Red drinkers. To be enjoyed young and slightly chilled. 13% abv

100% Baga made via Methode Champenoise to produce a savory and juicy sparkling red wine. Baga is typically known for its deep structure, but these grapes were chosen for their high acidity and good fruit potential. The base wine was initially fermented in stone lagares then transferred to 3k liter old oak tonels to complete fermentation. Secondary fermentation occurs in bottle to add sparkle. This is a Brut Natural so there is no added sugar. The Bruto Natural Tinto jumps out of the glass with bright and brambly fruit. The palate is generous and savory with excellent length.

Organic / Natural

Golden-amber-colored, an exotic bouquet of sugar-dusted ginger, dried nectarines, crushed green apple, geranium and mint. This is powerful and deeply textural, with a pretty inner sweetness balanced by brisk acids and tart orchard fruits, complemented by savory brown spice and a mind-bending addition of cocoa toward the close. For all of its density, the Praruar turns squeaky-clean through the finale, yet still full of lively energy, resonating on floral-tinged peaches and pears.

Produced exclusively from Catarratto grapes grown on the Il Censo estate outside of Palazzo Adriano; vineyards are farmed organically and grapes are harvested manually, with harvest occurring usually in October; the grapes maintain contact with the skins for two to three weeks, the length of the maceration depending on the vintage; only indigenous yeasts are used during fermentation and no temperature controls are utilized; the wines is bottled without being fined or filtered.

96 points Vinous
The 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a rich, resonant wine that captures the natural radiance of the Tuscan Coast. Blackberry jam, mocha, plum, chocolate, spice and espresso all build in a mid-weight yet succulent, inviting Bolgheri red. There's terrific richness and resonance here. This is a classic Guado al Tasso. In 2020, the estate did not make its top bottling, the 100% Cabernet Franc Matarocchio, opting to use that fruit for Guado al Tasso. "Late season rains were challenging for the Cabernet Sauvignon, so we chose to use all our best Franc in Guado al Tasso," CEO Renzo Cotarella explained.

96 points Wine Advocate
The Marchesi Antinori 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso sees Cabernet Franc at over 30% of the blend in this vintage, with the rest going to Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% to 20% to Merlot. Matarocchio was not produced this year, and this wine benefits from the extra Cabernet Franc as a result. The 2019 and 2021 vintages of Guado al Tasso are quite concentrated and rich, whereas 2020 is leaner in texture, along the lines of the edition we saw made in 2010. There was rain in September. Managing Director Renzo Cotarella says he would not describe 2020 as a hot vintage because the rain did pose challenges at the end of the growing season. In Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast, budbreak is earlier than in other appellations, and the growing season is longer as a result. This is a benefit to the international varieties used here. The wine shows nice richness and intensity. The Cabernet Franc definitely comes through and adds the characteristic vertical lift and linearity that the grape is known for. You get black fruit, spice, white pepper and no signs of bitter stems or bramble. Sweet, almost milky tannins are interlocked with fresh acidity to give this wine good cellaring potential. The new oak was dialed back a bit in this vintage.

The generous, sun-kissed wines of Spoken West over deliver on quality and value.
Spoken West was built on the premise of producing delicious wines from California that embody the beauty of the West Coast. Produced by Jamey Whetstone who is no stranger when it comes to producing top notch California wines. Jamey moved to Napa Valley from his home in South Carolina to manage Mustards Grill in 1996. Simply captivated by the community, lifestyle, and culture of wine country, he found himself quickly growing roots. By 1998, he had begun his winemaking education at Turley Wine Cellars where he would remain in his apprenticeship until 2005. During that time, he spent a summer sabbatical working for the Seysses family at Domaine Dujac in Morey-Saint-Denis and laid the groundwork for Whetstone Wine Cellars, which he founded in 2002.

All vineyards are certified sustainable. Grapes are hand harvested and fermented in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 11 months in a combination of tank, and French, oak barrels (10% new)

97 points Wine Advocate
It wasproduced with grapes from three vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra at different altitudes and is a blend of Tempranillo with 8% Garnacha with limited yields because of mildew. It matured in new French barriques for 20 months. He wanted a more classical image and perhaps a more classical profile of wine. It's perfumed and floral, with notes of aromatic herbs, a little balsamic and quite showy, with very fine tannins and freshness, as he used more grapes from the higher-altitude zones. It's powerful and elegant, and in a way it reminds me of the style of the initial vintages of La Cueva de Contador; it's clean and elegant. It's 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.55. It's very young but still drinkable, as the quality of the tannins is very good. I think this is the one wine I'd buy from their portfolio if I could only buy one. It transported me to the wines from the early 2000s. 10,000 bottles produced

This medium-bodied table red from the Veneto region of Italy was $11.99 a bottle!

88pts- Vinous:
"Bright gold. Aromas of fresh pit fruits, melon and tangerine, plus a hint of tarragon. Bright and airy on the palate, offering lively nectarine and citrus fruit flavors that show good clarity and back-end snap. Finishes clean and firm, leaving a bitter orange pith note behind."

#23 On The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2024!

95 points Wine Spectator
A wine of dimension and detail that's framed by dynamic structure, with flavors of blackberry, black olive, licorice and dusky spices gathering richness and polish toward big but refined tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2032

Organic

90 points Vinous
The 2020 Crianza is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano sourced from Sotes, Cenicero, Huércanos and Oyón in Rioja. Aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels, this garnet-hued wine presents aromas of wild herbs and black fruit, complemented by oak layers. On the palate, it is dry, rich and fairly taut with a lingering juicy profile, offering notes of black fruit and a clingy texture.

Organic

Touriga Franca, Tincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Syrah
VINEYARD
This red is made from their estate fruit in Vidigueria and is a blend of Syrah, Touriga Franca, Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet.
SOIL
A mix of granite and limestone rich soils.
VITICULTURE
Organic and regenerative farming. Harvests are done by hand and at night.
VINIFICATION
The wine is fermented spontaneously with 30% whole cluster and gentle extractions.
AGING
The wine ages in old French oak for 12 months before blending and spending an additional 12 months in stainless steel.
NOTES
2020 is the first harvest after changing to regenerative organic farming.